Hi Chris: Great information on the benefits of oxyclean (sp?) for stems. Having worked and owned a pipe shop for many years I can only reiterate what the article says about buffing the stem and bowl. Back in 1974 I landed my first retail job in a pipe shop in Portland, Oregon. It was a Tinderbox franchise and each shop came fully equipped with a buffing wheel complete with wax, tripoli, and of course two wheels, one for the wax and one for the tripoli. Also included in the franchise was a metal cowling which housed the wheels. Well my first day on the job a customer came in and ask me to buff the stem and bowl of his pipe( I believe it was a high grade Savinelli or Comoy). Well, I proceeded to polish the bowl without adequately gripping the wood, the buffing wheel grabbed it out of my fingers and bounced it around in that metal cowling for what seemed like and eternity and finally spit it out in my direction, it was in three pieces and of course even though we replaced the poor man's pipe, as we all know that destroyed briar was like losing an old friend. So hold on tight to the bowl when you buff, 40+ years later I have buffed hundreds of pipes and have not lost one. Once bitten, twice shy, or something like that. Thanks for the great informative videos.
Doug Owen - Wow, quite a story, I wasn’t aloud to buff pipes either times I worked as a tobacconist, probably good I didn’t, because with my luck, it would happen to me as well. Great advice, thanks. 👍👍👍
He's right! Although I'm new to your channel and still have quite a few videos of your's left to watch, it's great to know more are on the way. I hope you have a great time on your break and enjoy the warm weather. ~Happy Piping & Best Regards from Cape Cod!
As an Intermediate pipe smoker I still have stuff to learn and your videos are teaching me new things about our hobby of pipes&tobacco, Thankyou for that! Also, Chris"MuttonChop" I hope you have a great vacation and safe travels with your family.
Muttnchop- Thanks for publishing video. I haven't been here in a while. Just checking in, I'm still smoking and enjoying my pipe, thanks to you! Thanks for the information on stems. Enjoy your weeks off with your family.
Enjoy yourself Chris. Take as much time with your family as you want. They come first. As much as we love your videos we all don't expect you to drop your family or responsibility to them to make videos. Good luck and god bless
Hello Chris, thanks for the shout out. Nice overview of the different stem materials. I really enjoy the acrylic stems; but don't have a particular favorite. I do believe the stems give the pipe a lot of their character. Safe travels.
The first time I really got the nicotine sickness I was being cocky, and boy did it put me in my place. That was also the last time I got it! Thanks for the great video, I love putting these on in the background while I read the news or emails. But remember, we're not your first priority, your family and summertime happiness are! Take care and, until we see you next, happy piping!
Piper Sam - I find sometimes it sneaks up on me, if I'm reading, or really into a television show, next thing you know bam it hits, then I end up fighting with it for 3 Hours or more, I hate that. Thanks for viewing my videos my friend. 👍👍👍
Hi Muttnchop, greetings from Brazil. I enjoy a lot your videos, im still a beginner in this art of the pipes. Here in brazil he have almost no tobacco to buy, and the ones we find are bad quality ones. But anyways, i've already learned a lot with you. Congratulaions for this amazing job you've been doing my friend !
Chris love your videos great one as always. The knowledge you share is always good. You are a great teacher we need this. We can always learn and it never to late to learn something new. I learned a lot and been smoking for many many years. I saw on The Pipe Nook channel there is a Nashville Tn meet up at the end of Sept. at Uptowns in Green Hills. I hope you plan to go. would love to meet up with you. Your Awesome thank you again for everything my friend. God bless Semper Fi!!! Enjoy your Family brother
Chap Stick! That should work rather well, thanks Wotsupmate!. The guys at Pipes & Cigars recommended using olive oil or petroleum jelly on a vulcanite stem after you finish smoking, so I keep a small jar of petroleum jelly where I smoke. But the Chap Stick idea is a lot more convenient, and it's just about the same. And as Wotsupmate said, a "little dab will do ya". And I have tried Decatur's Haze-Away with a worn out tooth brush and have somewhat cleaned a GBD Prehistoric that I bought as my first good pipe back in 1974. I say somewhat because it's still a very light green on the black stem, but it will do. Chris isn't kidding that a wheel can be dangerous, I broke a few stems off of various pipes when I worked at David's Briar Shop in Omaha in the late 70's. And one pipe hit a co-worker in the shoulder when it broke off the stem. So definitely take it easy!
And as some of you guys mentioned the slipperiness of acrylic stems, you're absolutely right, it takes about 10 or 12 smokes before your teeth put small scratches in the stem so it doesn't slide as much. But Chris' hint on shrink tubing works wonders. And I may be wrong, but it doesn't look like acrylic/lucite stems can be made as slim as vulcanite stems, at least they seem to always be a bit thicker.
Thank you.....I bought 3 Meerchaum estate pipes. One is a Strambach "pressed" in pretty rough shape to learn repairs with (It's smokable but abused). The other (2) are Really very nice Turky "Block" Pipes I want to restore on my own (smoked easy, minor scratches and needs stem buffing). I'm gathering as much information I can before I set out for my home project.
Ive done this on could OLD OLD ebonite and celluloid pens. When just doing it for fun and no tools yeah be ready with that elbow grease like it says. Both of the pens I did took about 3 hours. That said well worth the work
Thanks for the informative and useful video Chris,these vulcanite stems do cause some headache thats for sure,I have performed some stem cleanings by myself after watchin Canerod Mike's restoration videos and consulting with him,I was using magic earser& micromesh pad removing bad oxidation, and pretty succesfully,nonetheless should to be said, after the process was done still very minor tiny scratches were left present on stem surface,in all probability these micro sratches ain't removable other way but using wheel puffer combined with carnauba wax.another think to keep in mind is to oil stems periodically either using some mineral ,obsidian oil or as said belowe after each smoke a light dab of Chap-Stick is highly advisable method to follow. Thank You and have a happy Holidays, Greets, Paul
Paul The Scandinavian - Thanks Paul for the added info, I hadn't heard of the chap stick thing, but now that I have I plan on using it from now on. 👍👍👍
I'm thinking about buying a few used pipes online. I don't know what quality they are, but I like the styles of the pipes and would like to be their next stewards. Can you do a video about buying used pipes and some things to look out for and what to do before smoking it for the first time? I'm planning on cleaning it like you taught in a previous video.
I have a clay pipe (made from a mold used in the civil war to make them) and it has a reed stem. It popped out on me (it was glued it) and now when I use it, smoke comes out the shank where the stem attaches. It still works, but I don't like it doing that. Not gonna risk glueing it back in because of how fragile it is. Now I just keep it for looks.
James Bond - Good thinking, clay pipes were not designed to last long anyway, I had one do the same thing, now it’s just for show as well, only difference is I did glue mine back in. 👍👍👍
I'm working on an older salvinelli vulcanite stem, heavy gross oxidation. I only used a magic eraser and water. It worked well. I was surprised in the rubber smell. Now ive got to polish slim brass ring in the stem.
Hey there Muttonchop! I was wondering if you could do a quick rundown of the different styles of pipes? Bulldog, Calabash, Author, etc. Are there any inherent advantages/disadvantages to each or is it all just aesthetics? Thanks!
Muttnchop ( Chris ) Another great video. I have found a good tip on You Tube reference this very subject. Prevention is better than cure as they say........... The tip is........... When cleaning your pipe after smoking it remember the clean off the stem as well as the pipe. Then before putting the pipe away. Use a light dab of "Chap-Stick" on your index finger and lightly smear the pipe stem all over. The pipe stem will never discolour again and will remain glossy and black from one smoke to another. "Chap Stick" costs only pennies and lasts for an absolute age plus as a bonus.........You will never get chapped lips again !!!!! Happy Holidays, have a great time.
Very True and good advice, or rub with some mineral /paraffine oil on that matter, whereas the obsidian oil even if its a good stuff it'll leave some taste if not rubbed out from surfaces very carefully.all this based on my experiments,Greets
Wotsupmate - that is an awesome tip my friend, thanks for sharing that info with the club. I have never heard of this, but now that I have I am going to start using it right away......Awsome. 👍👍👍
That makes good sense, and it's portable too! I used some coconut oil this past weekend to polish up one of my basket pipes' stems as an experiment and it worked well but it didn't last long. I think you're on the right track with the Chap-Stick; it's made of petroleum jelly and that stuff has much more "staying power" than coconut oil. I only tried the latter because I like it as an aftershave, heh. BTW fellow pipe smokers: There's a great thread on Pipe Smokers Forum where a fellow member there took an old, long stem and did a side-by-side comparison of three separate polishing products. I think they were obsidian oil, mineral oil, and (?)...anyway, he found mineral oil to be the best of the three. Here's the link if anyone's interested: pipesmokersforum.com/community/threads/kind-of-settled-for-now.60623/ Thanks for sharing your tip and happy piping to you all!
I know this may be an absurd question with a million different answers but I have to ask. How does someone know when they are a more advanced pipe smoker? I personally feel I know how to smoke my pipe I know how to age my tobacco and clean my pipe, yet I feel there is so much more. Thanks in advance for any helpful insights.
Definitely good advice, I have a couple of old Peterson pipes that need a fair amount of TLC on the stems. I have been reluctant to try anything, but to be honest, because the stems are messed up I stopped using these pipes anyways. So applying some old Army logic where if its already 'broke" so to speak, why not give it a try. :)
Christopher Watt - I agree, they are already messed up, so why not give it a try, also you can determine what to do and not to do, so the next time you have a stem that needs worked on, you will know what to do. 👍👍👍
Hey Piper, love your videos! They have been awesome since I've started smoking a pipe. Question: how do you print the labels for your mason jar lids? They look great and I would like to emulate them at home! Thanks!
Ah nicotine sickness. I haven't had that happen but once. I ate a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, and I smoked a cigar. One that should of listed an hour in less than 30 minutes. Made me super sick. And they spice is super bad going back up. The guy that owns the store I buy my tobacco from got a good laugh when I told him that.
James Bond - I can imagine, for me, anything other then pipe smoking, cigars, chewing tobacco, cigarettes make me sick, sounds like a combo I would not enjoy 😖😖😖
Another good video, Chris. Enjoy your break with your family. Though I'm not a big fan of heat and humidity, I do love the Summer. Me and my family are hitting our favorite beach tomorrow and if it's nice enough outside, I'll be firing up the briar outdoors tomorrow night.
you might have already covered this, I haven't seen all of the videos yet. My question is; What is the difference between short stem pipes and one like mine that looks like a P trap from a sink?
Nice video so thanks, I don't like these acrylic stems, they're slippery as your bank manager, I don't like these bits which you can put on the stem...I like those old time vulcanite stems,yes they will get green and grey and don't look posh as acrylic ones but I like them. You can clean and polish them but most important thing to me with stems is how clean they're inside,clean stem equals good smoke. So a another rant from a man who loves vulcanite stems and Carnauba wax which used regular basis on them vulcanite stems will eventually stop oxidation, it's the only way to maintain stems properly. Have a great start for the week and as always cool smokes mate.
First time I smoked a cigar I was an idiot who had no idea whatsoever what I was doing and of course seeing people smoke cigarettes they inhale them so I started inhaling it and I inhaled every puff. I nearly fainted on the way back inside and felt so queasy I never wanted to smoke again until I realized you weren't supposed to inhale it.
Smoking Dan - WOW.....I’m surprised you didn’t throw up, I certainly would have. I have heard of some ex- cigarette smokers who switch to a pipe inhale the smoke, not me, It would definitely make me sick. 👍👍👍
Relaps75 - Yes, but I would only do it in small amounts, you might mix something that is awful and have to throw it away, so do small amounts in case that happens. 👍👍👍
Hey I'm new to your channel and I only have 3 pipes. A non briar church warden a no name bulldog and a baraccini number 611 acrylic stem which is by far my best smoking pipe. question I'm thinking about maybe trying a filter on my baraccini, any suggestions and should use one? What's your preferencem?
Hey, Muttnchop Piper. I'm new (again) to pipe smoking-seriously this time. My important question, as I build-up my small, but growing pipe collection: what blends is it okay to "mix" & use in my few pipes till the collection grows? I'm picking-up nuances of the Latakia from my Frog Morton "Cellar" blend & don't want to transfer that flavor to another pipe, and potentially spoiling the Latakia flavor & so forth... Thanks, LeRoy & great job!
LeRoy Lee - In your case you might want to think about dedicating 1 pipe to each Blend type, 1 pipe for Latakia, 1 pipe for Virginia's, 1 pipe to Virginia/ perique, so on and so forth. I smoke non aromatics in most of my pipes, and I have a group of pipes I only smoke Aromatics in, and I really don't have a problem with Ghosting, I pretty much taste the flavor of the tobacco I am smoking at the time, and nothing else. 👍👍👍
With the electrical shrink wrapping, do you find that when you clench, you dig into the wrap and it pulls away from the stem, leaving a pocket of air underneath? I may have not heated it enough, but I tried it and, while I like it, once I actually clench the pipe, after a bit it pulls away and leaves that pocket underneath.
Kevin Behringer - I noticed this as well, but it took about 30 smokes before mine loosened up and I had to replace it, so that might be the problem, you didn't heat it enough, but be careful not to over heat it, you could damage the stem. 👍👍
Muttnchop do you prefer vulcanite or lucite bits on pipes? Is it a deciding factor for you when you purchase a pipe? Or do you just buy a pipe because you like the looks and it doesn’t really matter what stem material it is?
Tattooed Trout Dude - I prefer lucite, vulcanite tends to oxidize quickly, and I hate that greenish color, but I’ll smoke either if I really like the pipe. 👍👍👍
Muttnchop!!!! Great job my friend.. Really appreciate it greatly... I'm taking a break from smoking for a little while think I have burt my taste buds??.. Got that bitter taste in my mouth.. So a little rest may be in order? Have you done a video on this one? Or what is your thoughts? 😀👍👍
Pipes And kayaks - I have burnt my buds dude, lol, not that it's funny, because it's not, I just hate it when it happens, I ave not done a video on this, but I'll add it to the list. I hope you get over it soon my friend. 👍👍👍
Muttnchop Piper muttnchop thanks brother I really appreciate it greatly will be looking forward to it I hope you're having a great summer my friend I will be seeing you soon take care
WhiteBurleyDude - thank you my friend, and sorry to say I am not, I have a prior engagement, but I am making plans to go back to Chicago next year. 👍👍😒
Enjoy your time off! Quick question, are you planing on attending the Columbus show this year? Would love to meet up in the tent and share a bowl if you are.
Hey I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the instrument you play but I remember watching a video of you playing a song that you wrote and it was amazing! Maybe you could revisit that?
Evan Blackley - it's called a Mountain Dulcimer, and I have done 2 other videos featuring some of my music, one is called image and tune, and the other one is called Relax with muttnchop: beautiful images and music to relax which while you smoke your pipe. 👍👍👍
Hi friend Happy Piping!.. I have some question, is cumberland stems are stronger from bitten? so it will not leave a tooth marks, or is it the same as ebonite? *Love your videos!
Yohan Anggareza - I truly don’t know, I don’t have a lot of experience with Cumberland stems, never really heard of them, so I’m sorry, that I can’t help. 👍👍👍
Hello cool Video again, bought my first pipe half a weak ago and smoked it two time, but I did not manage to taste a real diffrence to cigarett tabaco did I make a mistake smoking or packing my pipe? Thanks for all response.
Philipp W. - you have to give it some time, plus going from cigarettes to a pipe, it may take your taste buds longer to adjust compared to those that hadn't smoked cigarettes before smoking a pipe. Also, make sure you are smoking quality pipe tobacco, some Brick and Mortar pipe tobacco is of poor quality along with Drug Store pipe tobacco. 👍👍👍
Two things: The type of tobacco..I find that straight Virginias, Virgina-Periques and Burley blends taste like cigarettes (because it is exactly the same tobacco as in ciggys). Smoke good aromatics, semi-aromatics, or blends that have Latakia (socalled English and Balkan blends), these will all taste very different than ciggys. I recommend getting a good vanilla or cherry aromatic, if youre into that, and do try some blend with Latakia in it. Second, if you smoke your pipe too hot, most tobaccos will end up tasting like a cigarette (at best), so slow down, my friend, slow down!
I presume you heard the bad news about McClelland? I need to get a few more tins before I cant get it any more.. Quite like Frog Morton on the Town. Still to try in the Cellar. Keen to get some Rum Toddy M40, and got some Red Dog too.
Jason Tankard - Yes I heard, I’m lucky I have 10 tins each of Frog Morton Cellar, and On The Town my 2 favorites, so that should last me the rest of my life. This is my advice to you my friend, try as many blends as you can afford, pick out 12 of you favorites then buy over time 10 to 12 tins of each and put them in your cellar. From the time McClelland announced they were shutting the doors until every tobacco retailer was sold out took a matter of days, I have 12 Favorite blends 10 tins each, if others close their doors I’m covered. Just a suggestion. 👍👍👍
Thanks for the advice. Great how you such an active youtuber in that you post regularly, but also respond actively. I try to skim commends before posting my questions ect. I jumped in and got a Tin of on the Town, but Still to try to acquire an in the Cellar. I hope to pull or a Rum Toddy M40, but was out of stock, but the supplier claimed they will have some in the next few weeks. Maybe they are waiting on an already ordered shipment (we have a tax rise on tobacco products coming so a lot of stock ran out not just McClelland). A 50g tin here in Australia costs around $75AUD, over $100 USD... I got about 20 samples here - 4 separate packs of different samples (5pk of aromatic, 5pk english blends, 5pk sweet, and a mix 5pk based on recommendations from this other seller). I'll have to start doing the wise thing and ordering off smokingpipes.com, as it is so much cheaper, and even if customs nab it, it's cheaper to reorder it a couple times than pay the customs tax (if you dont pay the goods are forfeit and destroyed, but no know penalties for it). It seems most avid pipe smokers here do it this way. I just ordered 2 pipes off smokingpipes.com and they are on the way. Really keen to get those. Also have a couple falcons and extra bowls on the way in the post, that should allow me to keep my different blends separated. Not sure I'll ever come up with even 10 I want to bulk buy of, but if I do, I'll try to cellar up a collection. I'm a bit paranoid about bulk buying and cellaring. Worried that they could go bad/mouldy on me. I had one of the pks in the samples already with mould before even got to try it, but luckily I saw it right away and it is being replaced at no charge to me... A cellared tin, esp ones not made any more will not have any such luck. I have been using ball mason jars for the ones I open, but a new tin, I'd potentially keep sealed. Many thanks again.
i have a stromboli pipe pipe with a strange stem,when i remove it from the bowl to clean it it has a metal tang sticking out i cant figure out how to run a pipe cleaner through it
Nick spurlin - I don't, but you can send it to a regular address, Chris Carlisle, 400 Englewood Dr. Frankfort Ky. 40601, and thank you very much for the offer. I appreciate your military service my friend, thank you. 👍👍👍
The blob of petroleum jelly on my Nording stem mark didn’t help. Came right off. Perhaps another method is warranted, or just letting a professional tackle the job.
Muttonchop I've heard you and others warning about this problem of nicotine overdosing or poisoning ,sickness .ive been smoking a pipe now for only a little while ,maybe a couple of months or so and I've not had any such effect as yet but years ago I was considered a major stoner ,I couldn't smoke enough dope ,obviously I've done other drugs as well as alcohol to excess but I've been clean for over ten years .i don't take any of the pipe smoke into my lungs but like I say I don't experience any nicotine highs ,do you think this is because of my past excesses?
Fredricko Smithson - Possibly, it also could be because you have a high tolerance to nicotine, where it would take a lot for you to feel the effects, it's like being on a boat in the ocean, some people can handle the rocking of the boat and not get sick, some get sick after the first wave hits, so you probably have a high tolerance to nicotine, consider yourself lucky in that regard. 👍👍👍
I gor nicotine aickness just by being an idiot. Wasnt with a pipe, me and tao of my griends were using vape pens and wanted to hot box hos car. Boy did i get put in my place. Killer headache, and disgudting nausea, was face down in a toilet bowl for about an hour because i thought i was going to yak. Leaned my lesson, never gonna let that happen again.
hay mutinchop i jest riysevd my fierst pipe its a merschum calbash pipe wish i could give you some pics of it its bautfall naw i jest nee to git me some tubbacow naw.😀